Vehicle guard



Sept. 27, 1927.

E. c. GLEDHILL VEHICLE GUARD Filed Aug. 26. 1925 s Sheets-Sheet 1 27. 6". 'lediulll whom,

- v 1 643 555 P 1927' E. c. GLEDHILL VEHICLE GUARD Filed 11112.26, 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 1,643,555 Sept 7' E. c. GLEDHILL VEHICLE GUARD Filed Aug. 26, 1925 3 Sheets-Shut 3 Patented Se t. 27, 1927.

UNITED STATES EDWARD C. GI-IEDHHJIJ, GALION, OHIO.

VEHICLE GUARD.

Application ma s m as, 1925. Serial No.-52,825.

This invention is a guard to prevent ve-. hicles running off a road at sharpturns or at the edges of steep grades or precipices,

and it seeks to provide asimple structure which may be set u at danger points at low cost to operate e ectually 1n preventing vehicles leaving the road and overturning. A. further object of the invention is'to provide a structure which will be strong and durable to withstand the shocks incident to the impactof a skidding vehicle and avoid the necessity of frequent repairs, and it also seeks to provide a structure which will be standardized so as to cover variations in the build of vehicles so that any vehicle tending to leave a road or overturn will be intercepted by the guard and seriousaccidents prevented. The invention is illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings and will be hereinafter fully set forth. I

In the drawings: I

Figure 1 is a view, partly in elevation and partly in vertical section, showing my vehic e guard and illustrating the use of the same'by the representation of an automobile in contact therewith;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a section of the guard; p I

Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical section taken at the joint between two alined rails;

Fig. '4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Figs. 5, '6, 7 and 8 are detail perspective 3 views of various forms of posts which may be emp oyed.

he employed, and

Figs.- 9 to 18 are detail perspective views. showin variousforms of rails which may In carr ing out my invention, I. setup at interva s along theside of a road, posts 1 which are preferably of metal and tubular in form so as to possess maximum strength with minimum weight. To these posts, I secure rails 2 and 3 which are also preferably of sheet metal and tubular in form to secure the maximum strength for a 'ven weight. In Figs. 2 and, 5 more particu arly, the post is illustrated as formed from a blank bent or folded longitudinally so as to assume a rectangular form open at one side, as indicated at 4, and having 0 enings 50 formed through its opposite wall to. facilitate the fastening of the'rails thereto. In this particular form of post,the open side of the post is provided. with vertical inmay develop in manufacture.

wardly projecting flanges dwhich. aid in preventing buckling of the parallel trans- .verse side walls of the post in an, obvious manner. The open side of the post is arranged away from the road with. the opposite parallel closed sidethereof fronting the road. The rails 2 and 3 in Figs. 1 to tare of similar construction but vary in their vertical dimension and each rail has its' front side closed while its rear side is formed with inwardly projecting flanges 6 through which bolts, screws or similar fastening devices are inserted to pass'through the openings 50 in the respective posts tosecure the rails thereto. The fastening devices are indicated at 7 in Figs. 3 and 4, anditwillbe noted uponreference to Fi 4 that the flanges 6 of the rail are prefera ly formed with lon itudinally extending slots 8 to receivet 0 bolts so that the rails may be properly ad- ]usted to compensate for any slight irregularities in their dimensions or edges wh1ch As shown clearly in Fig. 1, the lower rail is disposed at such distanceabove the, surface of the road that the hub caps of the wheels of an automobile,v indicated at 9, will impinge against the outer wall or side of the rail in the event that the vehicle should skid, and inasmuch as the dimensions and forms of automobiles have now been very thoroughly standardized, the rail may be produced with such a vertical dimension as to cover the entire range of all standard automobiles so that the hub cap upon the wheel of any automobile will impinge against the face of the rail at some point in the height thereof. The upper rail 2 is designed to receive the shock of the vehicle body in the event that the same should be overturning and is located at such height upon the post that it will clear the fenders or mud guards of any automobile and will come into contact with the vehicle body be low the windows or glass fittings thereof.

From what has'been said, it will be under "stood that the guard is set up as a permanent structure at the side of a road or along the crest of a hill over which the road is will check'its tendency tooverturn and also arrest its movement away fromthe road. The. vehicle ,will seldom; strike squarely against the guard, but if it should come squarely against the guard, the front wheels or possibly the rear wheels would impinge against the lower rail 3 and ti movement of the vehicle be thereby positively stopped. Generall the vehicle will strike the guard at a slig 1t angle and its forward movement will not be stopped, although it will be retarded and the hub caps will slide along the lower rail until the machine is again under control. \Vhile the rails may be made reasonably long, it is obvious that there is a limit to their length and it, therefore, be

comes necessary to provide the rails in sections which are alined and the meeting ends of the rail sections will, of course, be brought together in front of a post, as shown at 10 in Fig. 2. When a vehicle strikes against the guard, the hub caps will generally press against the outer face or wall of the lower rail with such force that the said wall will be bent slightly inward and will assume a concave form instead of retaining its flat vertical shape. The indenting or deformation of one rail section will, of course, not be imparted automatically to the meeting rail section and, there fore, the end of the meetin section would ing support 11 which extends across the joint between the meeting ends of alined sections at the rear of the joint, and this bridging member will obviously maintain the flush arrangement of the meeting ends. To hold the bridging member in contact with the meeting ends of the rail sections, l. mount a set bolt or screw 12 in the post with its front end engaged in a seat 13 provided. therefor in the bridging member and equip the said bolt or screw with a lock nut let whereby it will be held in its adjusted posi tion' in the post. This arrangement is shown clearly in Figs. 3 and l of the drawings.

The form of the rails is such that weight is minimized while maximum strength is attained and at the same time more or less resiliency is imparted to the rail so that, when 1 a vehicle impinges upon the rail, .the rail will yield slightly to the shock and cushion the same and will ordinaril resume its former normal shape after t e strain imposed thereon has been removed. In assembling the parts, the workmen may reach through the open rear side of the rail to position the fastening screws or bolts in the .openings provided therefor in the rail flanges and in the front wall of the post will be thereby avoided.

and then reach through the open rear side of the post "with a socket wrench to turn home the nuts mounted on said screws or bolts.

111 the preferred form of rail sl'iown in Figs. 1- and openings 15 are provided through the bottom web of the rail at intervals through the entire length thereof so that any rain or other moisture which may tend to collect between the front wall of the rail and the upstanding flange thereof may drain therefrom and corroding of the rail In F i g. 5, I have shown the same form of post as is shown in Figs. 1 and 2 but show the same on a larger scale so that the form of the post may be more clearly understood. In Fig. 6, I have shown a post 17 which has its walls arranged at right anglcsto each other but in which the flanges are omittedgthereby reducing the cost somewhat while providing apost of sufficient strength'for use in places where travel is'light and the possibility of accident correspondingly reduced. In Fig. 7, I have shown a post 18 in which the side walls are at right angles tothe front wall and the inwardly projecting flanges 5 are omitted, but in place of said flanges I form arcuate lips 19 which extend through the height of the post and impart additional strength to the side walls as well as tending to effect a more secure'eng-agementwith any anchoring member or base which may be employed in which to set the post. In Fig. 8, I have shown a post 20 is free of flanges and corresponds in form to the post 17 but is provided in its front wall with a vertical groove or corrugated portion 21 which serves the purpose of strengthening said wall and imparting some resiliency thereto so that the post will cooperate with the rails in yielding to the impact of a vehicle but effectually checking the skidding movement of the vehicle.

The rail. 22 shown in Fig. 9 has a flat front wall corresponding to-the fiat front wall of the rails 2 and 3 shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and top and bottom walls extending rearwardly-tobcar against the post, the flanges in this form of rail, however, both being turned downwardly from the respective webs of the rail, and the-lower web 24: is inclined rearwardly so that anymoisture whichmay tend to collect thereon will be caused to drain therefrom. This formof rail has. all the advantages 'of resiliency and strength that the previously described form has and avoids the necessity of drilling or otherwise forming the dram openings in its lower web. The rail 25 shown in Fig. 10 is free of the rear flanges which bear flat against the faced the post and has the rear edges of its top and bottom webs arranged to bear squarely against the post. The openings 26 for the fastening bolts or screws in this form of rail are formed through the front of the same and the fastening devices employed are long accidents which are due to vehicles skidding enough to extend through the post and upon roads at curves or at the edges of hills, through the front wall of the rail. The and this means may be easily set up at any cs front wall of the rail in this form is prodanger point. vided with a longitudinally extending dished Having thus described the invention, I

portion 27 which imparts greater resiliency claim: to the rail and also forms a guide to counter- 1. A guard for the purpose set forth comact any tendency of the skidding vehicle to prising posts arranged at intervals along the 7% jump as it impinges against the rail and tends side of a roadway, and rails secured to the 10 to move along the same. The rail shown in front faces of the posts, said rails having Fig. 11 has the same intermediate dished poropen back portions and closed face portions, tion 27 shown in Fig. 10 but the openings 28 the face portions being spaced from the posts for the fastening devices are formed in and extending vertically and positioned atflanges 29 which extend respectively upward such height above the surface of the roadway ly and downwardly from the top and bottom as to be engaged by the hubs of a skidding webs of the rail. This form of rail may be standard motor vehicle and check the movesecured to the post somewhat more easily ment of the same. than the form shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The 2. A guard comprising a plurality of 89 rails shown in Figs. 10 and 11 may have posts, rail sections having back portions their bottom webs inclined downwardly tosecured directly to the posts and having ward the rear in the same manner that the front face portions in front of and spaced web 24 shown in Fig. 9 is inclined in order from the posts, the meeting ends of alined to provide drainage. The rail shown in Fig. sections abutting in front of a post, a bridg- 12 is the same as the rail shown in Fig. ing member disposed against the rear sides 11, except that the flanges extend toward of the front face portions of the rail sections each other and drainage openings, indicated at the meeting ends thereof whereby to overat 31, are formed through the bottom web. lap said ends and maintain them in flush The rail shown in Fig. 13 is the same as the relation, and a support for said bridging 99 rail shown in Fig. 10 but omits the grooved member mounted in the post and bearing 39 portion 27 and has its front wall fiat while against the back of the bridging member to the rail shown in Fig. 14 is the same as the bind the same against the rail sections. rail shown in Fig. 11, except that its front 3. A guard comprising a plurality of posts, wall is fiat and vertical. lhe several forms rail sections having back portions secured i of rail shown in Figs. 15, 16, 17 and 18 do directly to the osts and having front face not have top and bottom 'webs and are deportions free of the posts, the meeting ends ,signed to be secured more closely against the of adjacent sections abutting in front of a post, being provided with openings 32 adjapost, a bridging plate disposed against the cent their ends to receive the fastening deinner sides of the front face portions of the vices which are inserted into the post. The rail sections at the meeting ends thereof 40 rail shown in Fig. 15 has its edge portions whereby to overlap said sections and main flat While its intermediate portion presents tain the flush relation-0f the same, and a, a convex face 33 to any vehicle which may supporting screw mounted in the post and impinge against the guard, and in Figs. 16 having its front end bearing against the back and 17 are shown rails which are essentially of the bridging plate, said screw being adthe same as that shown in Fig. 15, except justable forwardly through the post to bind that the convex faces 3 1 are of less vertical the bridging plate against the rail sections. extent and are multiplied, Fig. 16 showing 4. A guard comprising a plurality of posts three convex portions alternating with two each having side walls and open at the back flat securing or post-engaging portions while between the side walls, rail sections having 59 Fig. 1.7 shows two convex faces alternating closed front face portions, top and bottom with three flat securing portions. In Fig.- wall portions extending rearwardly from the 18 is shown a rail consisting of a plate free face portions to bear against the posts and of flat portions but having corrugations 35 flanges extending along the rear edges of extending from end to end and covering the said wall portions, and fastening devices en entire vertical extent of the rail, the open gaged through said flanges and through the ings for the securing devices being formed fronts of the posts to secure the rail sections in the troughs of those corrugations whlch to the posts, the open backs of the posts and bear against the front face of the post. the space between said flanges giving access 129 From the foregoing description, taken in to the fastening devices for setting the same. connection with the accompanying drawings, In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

it will be seen that I have provided avery simple and efficient means for preventing EDWARD C. GLEDHILL. 

